Shoes for the Wards

For me, clinical day shoes must fulfill a couple of requirements - namely, that they be:

1) Comfy

• Some days I'm on my feet from 7 AM - 5 PM (or even longer!) and so this is my number one requirement.

2a) Look professional

•  Technically my clinical school has a strict no 'runners' rule, but I've gotten away with wearing mine quite a few times.  In the OT though, runners are probably the better option.

2b) Match what you're wearing

• Runners fail miserably at this; conversely, ballet flats match almost anything but they also have the side effect of being bloody uncomfortable! Trust me, I have three different pairs of ballet flats that I adore but can't wear if I'm going to be on my feet for more than an hour.

3) Protect your feet

PW Minor Broadway.

• Depending on what you're doing, you want your feet covered especially when you're working with fluids or sharp objects.   

My first pair of shoes were a pair of black leather lace-up comfort shoes I'd gotten from Walmart (similar in style to the one shown on the right, but at 1/4 of the price).  They pretty much fulfilled all the criteria I had so unsurprisingly they also wore out pretty quickly.






I'd tried ballet flats for awhile but after limping home following one long day on the wards, I'd decided that it wasn't practical in the long run.

Ankle boots from DWD Shoes

I switched to ankle boots for awhile, in particular combat/doc marten-style boots.  Surprisingly, it seems like these boots are the new fashionable thing to wear these days, which works out well for me.  You wouldn't think it but they do fulfill every criteria above and if I'm particularly worried about #2a, I'd pair it with some long dress pants (boot-cut, of course) and they look great.